Editor's Note

The Charge

Blair Witch with a bow and arrow?

The Case

Much like its plot, where two men and a boy set off into the Oklahoma woods
to film a hunting video and then something goes wrong, The Hunt is a
minor outing that also expresses its early intent only to become lost in its own
wooded interior. The story here seems simple enough and certainly has plenty of
potential. Entrepreneurs Jack Hamberg (Joe Michael Burke) and Atticus Monroe
(Robert Rusler) decide to produce a how-to video for hunting deer, certain that
a lucrative Wal-Mart distribution channel will make them flush with money. They
secure a leased hunting site and bring young Clint (Mitchell Burns) along to
sport the helmet-mounted mini-cam. With Atticus at the main camera and Jack
wielding the stealth crossbow, they begin their hunt—and their path to
fortune—one chilly morning. The trek gets off to an uneasy start, though,
when the three encounter another burly hunter illegally trespassing on their
leased hunting ground. His warnings that they should just leave go unheeded, and
the three set off into the woods. They wound a deer and then give pursuit,
crawling under an unexplainable chain-link fence that appears intended to keep
wildlife within its confines. Soon, the three lose their way after they have
encountered mysterious clearings with unusual attending machinery. As night
falls, it becomes apparent that the hunt is definitely on, but who's hunting
whom?

Filmed in just 13 days in March 2005, Director Fritz Kiersch (Children of the Corn) achieved
respectable results given his limited time and resources. There's an immediate
tension established among the characters as we see the ambition in both Jack and
Atticus, the sort that appears collaborative on the surface yet barely conceals
a brewing conflict to come. Mitchell Burns plays the somewhat sissified young
Clint, a boy of about 10 years who would be more comfortable grasping a video
game controller rather than grappling with hunting gear. All three actors do a
good enough job in their roles, and their performances, though not transcendent,
avoid the usual low-budget ineptitude that typically afflicts DTV product.
Unfortunately, in regards to Burke and Rusler, I kept sensing that with every
sizable chunk of dialog they offered, inside their heads they were
congratulating themselves to the tune of, "Yes! I nailed that
bit!"

As alluded to earlier, The Hunt is clearly derivative of The Blair Witch Project and confesses
as much. It utilizes the same first- and second-person perspectives afforded by
the use of the video cameras, and allows us to walk in the characters' shoes.
Unfortunately, the film also jumps into third-person perspective to provide
further context and, sadly, breaks the suspense. And by switching back and forth
between the hunters and a rescue effort led by underwriter Jon Kraw (Cliff
DeYoung), the narrative struggles to keep us anchored in the unraveling
situation of Jack, Atticus, and young Cliff.

As for the ending, it's definitely a twist, in regards to who's pursuing the
hunters (I honestly expected something along The Hills Have Eyes), although a look at
the DVD cover will certainly tip you off. Again, presumably hindered by a tiny
budget, the final act is quick and comes off as the most that could be afforded.
Afterward, you feel the film spent far too much time setting up the situation
and not enough time in its payoff, perhaps as a way to stretch the film to
feature-length running time. All in all, it's not a bad film but it could have
been so much better. Had it been able to provide more time in the
hunters-as-hunted content, and had it decided to fully adopt the Blair
Witch POV approach, this could have been a taut and tense outing. Instead,
this one just sort of gets lost in the woods.

As for the DVD presentation, this one comes in a 1.78:1 anamorphic
widescreen transfer. The image quality varies intentionally to represent the
various cameras that capture the action. That said, it's a suitable image that's
generally clean. The audio is genuinely pleasing, the Dolby Digital 5.1 track
making limited but effective use of the rear channels. While the film is
practically bereft of a score and the sound effects are largely attributed to
the characters' dialog and footsteps, there are occasions when off-camera sounds
creep over your shoulder to indicate an unseen pursuer. The extras include a
21-minute documentary, The Hunt Chronicles; it provides
behind-the-production information but is clearly overlong. A theatrical trailer
is also present although this film didn't see widespread release (although it
should be noted it won an award for cinematography and effects at the Chicago
Horror Film Festival).

So while you could certainly do better in selecting a sci-fi film to watch
on a lazy afternoon, The Hunt is still a decent outing that's worth a
rent. Just bring a compass.